The European Quickstep Flyaway – July 2024

IFFR 2024 European Quickstep Flyaway

The European Quickstep, IFFR’s 2024 “post-Convention flyaway” certainly lived up to its name, visiting four countries in 9 days.  The formula, combining the flyaway with the Nordic and Benelux section annual meetings proved popular and successful. In each location IFFR members hosted those attending – 65 members and partners and 16 aircraft on the entire flyaway, with a total of nearly 100, and 22 aircraft participating at some stage.  

Day 1 – Friday 5 July

The Quickstep started on the Friday evening – but members had been assembling in Copenhagen over the previous couple of days. The 5 aircraft flying VFR from the UK arrived at Roskilde on the Thursday, to get ahead of the “interesting” weather in Scandinavia on Friday morning, and then spent Friday morning exploring the nearby Viking Longship centre. 13 more aircraft arrived at Roskilde during the morning in time for a light snack lunch, before being bussed into Copenhagen.

By the evening the sun was shining as our party of 80+ Quickstep and Nordic Section guests boarded two glass topped canal boats for a two and a half hour evening cruise around the canals and harbour of Copenhagen. We renewed old acquaintances and made new ones as we enjoyed welcome drinks and a tapas supper. The statue of the Little Mermaid was of course the “must see” highlight of the tour. 

Day 2 – Saturday 6 July

Split into groups (speaking different languages), we were given a fascinating walking tour around the old city centre – learning about the popularity of the modern Danish monarchy (especially the recently abdicated Queen Margrethe), the regular fires through the centuries (for a long time the firefighters were paid in beer!) and dodging the occasional passing rain shower.  We arrived at the Amelienborg Royal Palace in time to see the Changing of the Guard – slightly subdued as the King and Queen were not in residence then. 

In the afternoon, we had time to explore the city centre – window shopping in the high class shops in Strøget or relaxing over a cold drink beside the water in Nyhavn.  At 4pm the Nordic Section held their Annual General Meeting at which Lydia Banderby was appointed as the next Nordic Section Leader and PWP Svend Andersen, who had been our host for the weekend in Copenhagen, was thanked for leading the section over the past two years.  This was followed by the pilots’ briefing – stressing IFFR’s safety culture and ensuring all were ready for the flying soon to come.

Then it was on to the Gala Dinner, held in Restaurant Påfuglen (Peacock) in the Tivoli Gardens. A wonderful setting and a magnificent private room. After a drinks reception, we enjoyed an excellent 3 course dinner with a fine selection of wines to accompany it.  And then the highlights of the evening.  George Ritchie’s Presidency of IFFR ended with the passing of the Presidential Chain of Office to incoming President Mike McFarlane who introduced himself and his motto for his Presidency “Honour the Past, Live in the Present, Envision the Future”.  Mike kindly presented PWP George with a beautiful glass trophy of three hands supporting the global family of IFFR, inscribed with “IFFR President George Ritchie 2022-24” and his motto of “Flying Good” and a picture of his aircraft G-IFFR on the different faces as a memento of his 2 years as leader.

In Nordic Section business, having presented last year’s winners, Erik and Charlotta Rosenlaw with their award, Svend announced this year’s winner of the Nordic Aviation Trophy, Per Staff, a founder member of IFFR Nordic Section from Norway, who had shared with us how this section came into being. 

Day 3 – Sunday 7 July

Two programmes today. 

The aviators were bussed back to Roskilde to fly to Stauning on the west coast of Denmark to visit the Danmarks Flymuseum, Denmark’s leading aviation museum. A beautifully clear day, interspersed with the occasional heavy shower, and a strong headwind from the west, giving flight times of around 1 hour 30 to Stauning and not much over an hour back! For some of our guests from other parts of the world, this was their first opportunity for GA flying in Europe.  After a hearty sandwich and cakes lunch, kindly organized by one of Svend’s flying friends, we were free to look around the collection of over 50 Danish and foreign aircraft including gliders, vintage aircraft, fighter planes and helicopters from 1911–2000.

Those preferring the ground programme today went by bus to Helsingør – Elsinore (not to be confused with Helsingborg, Sweden, or Helsingfors (Helsinki), Finland).  Here they visited Castle Kronborg (the castle made famous by Shakespeare in Hamlet) and were given a guided tour. Helsingør is on the water’s edge, from where one can look out across the narrow strait to Sweden.  After the castle visit there was time to explore the town or visit the new Marine Museum before being bussed back to base in Copenhagen. 

We had our “farewell to Copenhagen” dinner, which ended the Nordic Section meeting, on the Sunday night in a restaurant beside the water in Nyhavn.

Day 4 – Monday 8 July

Today we moved on to Flensburg, Germany, our second country, and team IFFR Germany / Austria, led by Section Leader Fritz Breitenthaler took over.  By now, the showers of the last couple of days had passed, and it was another great day for flying. As the flying time, going direct, would be less than for the bus, the pilots had a scenic detour, initially heading south to make the short crossing of the Baltic for a lunch break at the club airfield at Ruegen. Here, another superb “snack lunch” had been laid on by the local flying club. 

Meanwhile, the ground crew had their own scenic journey west, “island hopping” on the motorways to Odense. Here they stopped to visit the house of the great Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. Their guided tour took them through the pretty old town where HCA’s house is located and on to the modern and fascinating museum behind it where his life story – and his “fairytale” stories are brought to life.  Then it was back on the bus for a sandwich lunch and on to Flensburg.

This is a particularly scenic part of Europe for flying and after lunch, on leaving Ruegen, the pilots had the choice of flying along the north German coast to Flensburg, or a slightly more direct route back over some of the Danish islands. On arrival in Flensburg, we were greeted by Ulrich Starke, our IFFR Germany / Austria host for this part of the tour, for whom Flensburg is home.

By 5.15pm we had all assembled together at our hotel in time to start our guided tour of central Flensburg, a very pretty city with a strong seafaring and merchant trading past.  Very thoughtfully, the tour included a stop at the Braasch Rum Factory – a chance to rest weary legs as we sampled a variety of Braasch rums – and rum chocolate.  They were soooo good that the shop did a roaring trade afterwards. 

We returned to our Alte Post (site of the old post office) hotel for our buffet dinner together.  

Day 5 – Tuesday 9 July

A busy day, all together on the ground exploring Flensburg and the surrounding region.  Our first stop was the PHÄNOMENTA Science Exhibition. We entered as 62 adults and 3 kids, slightly suspicious of another museum.  But this is a superb “hands on” experience, so cleverly done and so engaging that we nearly had to be dragged out, as 65 happy “big kids”, an hour or so later. 

We then had a short bus ride south to the impressive Gottorf island castle in Schleswig-Holstein. Here we visited the the Landesmuseum and were given a guided tour of the Nydam Boat – an ancient Viking long ship and saw the Bog Bodies found in the nearby peat soil which, while looking gruesome, are so well preserved that each one can tell its own story.  Astonishing, given that these individuals lived over 2,300 years ago!

After a delicious “light” – 3 course – lunch in the castle, it was time to head on to the nearby Haithabu Museum. This showcases life in the region over the last couple of thousand years, (of which the Vikings are only a small part). There was then time to make the 10 minute walk to see the reconstructed Viking village on the shores of the water and to see some of the craftsmen plying their trades.

In the evening, after our return to Flensburg, we all enjoyed another fine 3 course dinner in “Im Alten Speicher”, a wonderful old restaurant just around the corner from our hotel.

Day 6 – Wednesday 10 July

Time to say farewell to Flensburg. The pilots were dropped off at the airport and the bus set off for Groningen, Netherlands.  The unsettled weather, which had changed repeatedly, continued this morning. We had also been notified of a “pop up” restricted area covering the width of the land area just south of Flensburg, in which the German Air Force was going to be conducting exercises that morning and afternoon.  There would however be a two-hour window for the Air Force to have an early lunch when it would be possible to cross this area.  The morning weather was not VFR, but by the second hour of the lunch break, the front had moved north taking with it the rain and low clouds, leaving generally sunny conditions. 

The plan had been to fly to Wilhelmshaven for lunch and then on to Groningen after lunch.  However, after the weather delay in the morning, and with a risk of thundery showers moving into Groningen in the afternoon, many of the aircraft decided to fly directly to Groningen. A handful of planes did make the stop at Wilhelmshaven where they were treated to a delightful lunchtime barbecue organized by members of the local Rotary Club. 

On arrival in Groningen, Maurice Tax, from the Dutch part of IFFR Benelux took over as host.  Unbeknownst to us when we planned the flyaway, this was the evening of the UEFA European Football Championship semi-final match in which the Netherlands was playing England. Groningen is a student city, the Dutch are always proud to wear orange to support their country, and so on a warm summer’s evening, it seemed the entire population of the city was crammed into the bars and cafes to watch the match, turning the entire city orange.

Our restaurant for the evening, the Three Sisters, overlooked one of the city’s main squares.  With nearly 70 of us to feed in our room, and nearly 900 covers to deal with in the group of restaurants in the block, this was not the night for the power to fail in the kitchens!  But fail it did.  And with national pride at stake, it was not a night to be calling out an emergency electrician.  Maurice, an electrical engineer himself, tried to assist to fix it while the chefs sought to plan a cold meal. In the end the situation was rescued when Maurice ordered in pizzas for us all!  An impromptu resolution – but the pizzas were good, no-one left hungry – and the Brits kept a low profile after the final whistle, with England having beaten the Netherlands 2:1!

Day 7 – Thursday 11 July

After several days of travelling, some of the party decided to stay and explore the city centre. The remaining group again split into two. The pilots and passengers took short scenic flights to the coast and past some of the Friesian islands before landing on Borkum, one of the larger islands. The remainder were taken by bus to the ferry terminal at Eemshaven for a 45 minute ride out to Borkum by boat. On arrival, the boat people boarded the little touristic train that makes the short journey to the town centre.  This was a day for exploring on your own. Some hired bikes to explore the island, some went to the beach and swam, and some just relaxed and enjoyed a leisurely lunch in town.

By mid-afternoon, it was time to make the journey back to Groningen.  Having discovered the ferry would not be running that afternoon, we put in place Plan B: an airlift back to the mainland.  Fortunately there were enough free spaces in the planes to make this work. It would have been only one trip for each pilot, but PWP George (who had had to stay behind for a business meeting in the morning) discovered when he went out to Groningen at lunchtime that he had a minor technical issue with G-IFFR that prevented him from flying that day. With three damsels in distress – the three first ladies Sali, Caroline and Carina – Fritz came to the rescue and made a second trip out to collect them. 

On our second evening in Groningen, we ate together at De Branderij restaurant, just around the corner from our hotel.

Day 8 – Friday 12 July

Time for the final leg of the flyaway, from Groningen, to Brussels, Belgium.  Sadly, having kept the wrath of the weather gods at bay all week so far, they had the final throw of the dice, and chose this morning to give us heavy rain and low clouds starting only 50 or 60 miles west of Groningen. Definitely not a day for flying VFR in Belgium. 

Sadly, but wisely, given the bad weather was forecast to move Eastwards, our Nordic contingent decided to head home before the weather could catch up with them. A couple of the German aircraft were able to fly south to their home bases in Germany, from where they could come by car to join us in Brussels.  For the rest of us, it was time to get on the bus.  The further west we headed, the more we felt glad to be down here wishing we were up there, than up there wishing we were down here.

IFFR Benelux Section Leader Kris de Keyser, our co-host for the weekend with Ingrid Witvrouwen, was also qualified to drive the bus, so he and our driver for the week, Brent, shared the driving, pushing on to get us to Brussels Grimbergen airfield in time for an only slightly late lunch at the aeroclub.  This marked the start of the IFFR Benelux annual meeting, and our numbers were added to by more IFFR members from the Benelux section and UK.

Another fine feast, washed down, for many, by their first Belgian beer, and it was soon time to head across to Brussels airport for a private visit to the headquarters of the Belgian Airforce15e Wing. Due to our late arrival, we missed the personal welcome from the base commander, but nonetheless we were treated to a fascinating behind the scenes tour of the hanger where the 15e Wing’s Airbus A400M military transport aircraft are kept and maintained. With pilots, navigators and ground crew on hand, as well as their PR man, to answer our questions and let us see inside an A400, including a visit to the flight deck, this was a very special visit – but sorry, no photos permitted. This rare privilege was thanks to IFFR Benelux member Chris Goossens, a senior member of the Belgian Air Force.

After a long day’s travelling, we were pleased to be able to relax over dinner in our hotel in the centre of Brussels.  Those who hadn’t had enough exercise during the day stretched their legs after dinner, making the short walk down to the Grand Place for a small digestif.

Day 9 – Saturday 13 July

Our final full day together. After breakfast, it was back on the bus for a guided tour to see the highlights of Brussels, with various stops along the way. These included the Atomium, built for Brussels’ 1958 World’s Fair in the shape of a giant iron atom, and now Brussel’s most iconic landmark and tourist attraction.

The bus tour ended at Autoworld in the Parc du Cinquantenaire, where we had lunch in its Brasserie Bagnole.  In the afternoon, members had the choice of visiting Autoworld, the National Car Museum of Belgium, or the Aviation Hall, forming part of the Royal Museum of Armed Forces, right opposite. 

Then it was back to the hotel in time to meet our guides for a walking tour of the city centre, taking in the most famous sites of Brussels, including the Grand Place and the Mannequin Pis bronze sculpture of a small boy peeing into the fountain. Nowadays, he can be dressed in different costumes and there is a nearby museum displaying all his past outfits.

Finally, it was time for the Grand Finale of the flyaway, the Benelux Section Gala Dinner, held in the ballroom of the magnificent Hotel Amigo.  Superb sparkling wines and canapes preceded a sumptuous dinner at which the fine wines were flowing well. Speeches were kept short, to allow the dancing to the live band to begin.  Truly a fine time had by all, and a great way to end our Flyaway.

Day 10 – Sunday 14 July

There were 20 of us who needed to get back to Groningen to rescue our planes, including the four British aircraft. Most opted to take the train, routing via Amsterdam. This arrived in Groningen early afternoon, allowing us all to get home before nightfall.

For those staying in Brussels, the Rotary E-Club of Aviation organized a Barbecue Lunch at the Grimbergen airfield, a rare chance for E-Club members to get together in person.  The weather stayed fine and a good time was had by all. 

And so, as they say, all good things come to an end.  A week of great fellowship, plenty of flying and a wonderfully diverse array of venues and activities – all in the true spirit of IFFR.  Thanks go to the team who worked so well together to make it all happen, including Svend Andersen and Roland Johnson from the Nordic Section, Fritz Breitenthaler and his assistant Constanze Remke, and Ulrich Starke from the Germany / Austria Section, and Maurice Tax, Ingrid Witvrouwen and Kris de Keyser from the Benelux Section. Thanks also to Christian Denke, who as Safety Officer, ensured pilots were always well briefed and that the weather conditions for flying were in line with the IFFR Guidelines, and to Ingo Neufert, our photographer in chief.

We look forward to doing it all again in North America next year, after the Rotary International Convention in Calgary!